Rahul Dravid reflects on India’s loss in the 2023 World Cup final
Photo: AP
KEY POINTS
- Indian coach Rahul Dravid spoke about the defeat in the 2023 World Cup final
- India won 10 straight matches to reach summit clash
- The team led by Rohit Sharma lost to Australia in the final.
While the 2024 T20 World Cup title win brought joy back to Indian cricket fans, the 2023 Cricket World Cup final loss to Australia in Ahmedabad Narendra Modi Stadium will remain among the most painful in the history of sport in the country.
For those unaware, the Rohit Sharma-led side had a dream campaign on home soil, having come into the summit clash with incredible dominance and ten consecutive wins. In front of a packed crowd at the world’s largest cricket stadium, the Men in Blue looked set to be crowned world champions for the third time, but their dreams were shattered against Australia.
The Pat Cummins-led side stunned the hosts with a performance of tactical brilliance after winning the toss and electing to bowl first, while India could post a total of just 240 on the board. However, the two-time champions got off to a near-perfect start with the ball as Australia were reduced to 48-3 before Travis Head stole the game with an innings that will go down in history as one of the greatest in the history of ODI cricket.
Head struck a stunning knock of 137 off just 120 balls to ensure Australia won their sixth title with a six-wicket victory.
Rahul Dravid It’s all down to the ‘luck factor’
Former India coach Rahul Dravid reflected on the defeat and blamed the “luck factor” for the result that did not go their way. Dravid pointed out that India needed luck to favour them when they won the 2024 T20 World Cup with Suryakumar YadavDavid Miller’s sensational catch to dismiss the match in the showpiece clash against South Africa.
“Sometimes at the end of the day you need a bit of luck. 30 balls to go, 30 runs to go. Unbelievable execution, unbelievable calmness from Rohit. We weren’t focusing on what we had to do but we needed a guy who could keep his foot an inch from the line. Sometimes (it’s) skill,” Dravid said at the CEAT awards in Mumbai.
“On November 19, I remember what happened, we hit Travis Head’s bat 15 times, he didn’t touch a single ball. You know, things can sometimes go your way, but you have to go with the process,” Dravid added.
Dravid’s tenure as India’s head coach came to an end after the 2024 T20 World Cup title as Gautam Gambhir replaced him at the top job. The former India captain was at the helm of Indian cricket for two-and-a-half years after taking over in November 2021 from Ravi Shastri.
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